ISEES staff and alumni page

We are indebted to the many people who contribute to the accomplishments of ISEES. We engage a broad diversity of people through our participatory and interdisciplinary collaborations and deliberations. Our staff plays a critically important role in our work; additionally, we benefit from the creative contributions by scholars and faculty in residence.

CURRENT STAFF

Dr. Anne R. Kapuscinski
Director

Deborah J. Brister
Sustainable Aquaculture Program Manager

Ozge Goktepe
Research Specialist

Mike Morton
Research Specialist

Kelly Paulson
Graduate student

Anne Cooper
Graduate student

Ron Millen
Graduate student

Tim Patronski
Graduate student

Andy Tri
Undergradaute Research Assistant

John Berini
Undergradaute Research Assistant

FORMER STAFF & SCHOLARS IN RESIDENCE

Dr. Emily E. Pullins
Biotechnology Regulatory Services of the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA

Dr. Lawrence R. Jacobs
McKnight Land Grant Professor of Political Science, Adjunct Professor in the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Terri Allendorf
AAAS Fellow, US Agency for International Development

Alice Cascorbi
Science Writer, Monterey Bay Aquarium

Dr. Kate Crowley
Program Head, Public Policy--School of Government, University of Tasmania

Paul Elkan
Ph.D. Candidate, Conservation Biology--University of Minnesota

Dr. David Faust
Adjunct Faculty Member, Department of Geography--University of Minnesota

Dr. Karen Mumford
Lecturer
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

Dr. Tsegaye Nega
Andrew Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow, Environmental and Technology Studies Program, Carleton College

Dr. Uygar Ozesmi
Chair, Environmental Sciences--Erciyes University, Turkey

Dr. Paul Phifer
Biodiversity and Foreign Affairs Officer, US State Department

Dr. Lori Pommerenke
AAAS Fellow, US Agency for International Development

Dr. Blake Ratner
Research Scientist
Policy Research & Impact Assessment Program
WorldFish Center, Malaysia

Dr. Wansuk Senanan
Assistant Professor of Aquatic Sciences, Burapha University, Thailand

Brent Sewall
Ph.D. Candidate, UC Davis Ecology

Dr. Chris Sneddon
Assistant Professor, Geography and Environmental Studies Program--Dartmouth College

Dr. Sara Tjossem
Lecturer, Department of History--University of Washington

Dr. Suzanne Savanick
Conservation Biology

Dr. Jon Rosales
Conservation Biology

Curriculum vitae (web)

Professional Profile Website

AquaGen Lab Website

Anne R. Kapuscinski, Ph.D. is a Professor of Fisheries and Conservation Biology, the founding Director of the Institute for Social, Economic and Ecological Sustainability (ISEES) and an Extension Specialist in Biotechnology and Aquaculture at the University of Minnesota. She is an international authority on biosafety policies and science, ecological effects of genetically engineered organisms, and genetically engineered fish and other marine organisms.

Dr. Kapuscinski has served on federal biotechnology advisory committees under three administrations since 1992. In 2001, she received a Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship, the world's preeminent marine conservation award, in recognition of her past leadership and to support her work with industry, government and public interest groups to improve the safety governance of biotechnology. Dr. Kapuscinski presently serves on the UN Global Environmental Facility's Science and Technology Advisory Panel, and a National Academy of Science committee on conservation of Atlantic salmon, among others. In 1997, the Secretary of Agriculture awarded Dr. Kapuscinski the Department of Agriculture's highest individual honor (USDA's Honor Award for Environmental Protection) for promoting sound public policies on biotechnology in aquaculture and on conservation of genetic diversity in fish.

The United Nations' Environment Programme recently invited Dr. Kapuscinski to present The Institute's "Safety First" program at an international forum on biosafety capacity building. Her other recent invited biosafety activities include: briefing members of the U.S. Congress; speaking to the U.S. National Academy of Science's new Standing Committee on Biotechnology; teaching at international biosafety training workshops for government staff from many countries; briefing negotiators of the International Biosafety Protocol; speaking at a national biotechnology forum in Chile; and a public presentation on biotechnology and wild species conservation at the American Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Kapuscinski has a B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Fisheries (minor in Water Resources) from Oregon State University. Dr. Kapuscinski also runs a research lab that investigates the effects of fisheries and aquaculture on genetic diversity of wild fish populations (often using molecular genetic methods) and the development of sustainable aquaculture. She is co-investigator of a new research project to test the ecological risks of genetically engineered fish and leads a program at the Institute on policies and practices for sustainable aquaculture.

Curriculum vitae (.doc)

Deborah Brister is the Sustainable Aquaculture Program Manager for the Institute for Social, Economic and Ecological Sustainability (ISEES) at the University of Minnesota. She teaches an upper division sustainable aquaculture course at the University and is an aquaculture researcher with experience in a variety of species including rainbow trout, tilapia, Atlantic salmon, northern pike and walleye in recirculating systems, raceways and integrated aquaculture/hydroponic systems. One of her projects, since 1997, includes the development of an environmental assessment tool for aquaculture in the Great Lakes. This environmental assessment tool takes into consideration potential environmental effects, provides scientific background and a way to provide transparent documentation through a systematic assessment process.

Deborah is also extensively involved in the development of organic aquaculture and is actively participating in developing feasible national and international organic aquaculture standards. Since 1999, she has worked closely with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program and was coordinator of a National Organic Aquaculture Workshop sponsored by the Institute in June, 2000. The workshop drew national and international participants from the aquaculture, organic, NGO, government, academia and food retail sectors together in an unprecedented fashion. This led to an ongoing commitment by participants to continue to work together towards national organic aquaculture standards.

In 2003, Deborah is coordinating another organic aquaculture workshop in Minneapolis, this time focusing on evaluating and prioritizing low-food-chain candidate species. In addition, she is coordinating the first annual Organic Seafood Tasting Tour, which will coincide with the workshop, enabling workshop attendees and others to taste a number of candidate species prepared by top local seafood chefs.

Deborah has authored articles on organic aquaculture that have appeared in The Organic Standard, World Aquaculture Society, Aquaponics Journal and, most recently, a United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UN/FAO) document. She has served on the USDA National Organic Standards Board Aquaculture Working Group, is Interim Co-chair of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Aquaculture Working Group and serves on the Panel of Experts for GlobalChef.

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Ozge Goktepe has received her B.S. in Genetics and Cell Biology with Mathematics minor at the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences in December 2003. Ozge is interested in pursuing a research career in genetics, and in the near future plans to seek a graduate degree consistent with her career objective. Ozge joined ISEES in March, 2002. In addition to her position at ISEES, Ozge is currently working as a research specialist for Dr. Kapuscinski's Fisheries lab, on possible gene flow of transgenic fish and assessing their risks for the environment.

Mike Morton is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences, having been awarded a B.S. in biology in the spring of 2000. His elective courses emphasized fish physiology and sustainable aquaculture. He is currently working as a Research Specialist for Dr. Kapuscinski's AquaGen lab, helping to oversee an experiment designed to characterize the risk to the environment posed by accidental escape of transgenic fish. Prior to his enrollment at the U of M and subsequent hire by ISEES, he worked in the field of electronics as an engineer. His interests include aquarium and aquaculture science, scuba diving, digital photography, and personal computers.

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Kelly Paulson is a Ph.D. student in the University of Minnesota's Conservation Biology Graduate Program. Kelly is studying the ecological risk of genetically engineered fish using growth-enhanced transgenic medaka as a model organism, and is more broadly interested in the nexus of biodiversity and biotechnology. Kelly is a charter member and elected Secretary of the new Minnesota Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology and co-coordinator of the weekly seminar series, "What's Up in Sustainable Agriculture?" She earned her B.A. (2001) in Environmental Studies and French (minor) at Macalester College in Saint Paul.

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Ron Millen is a graduate student in Conservation Biology currently working with Anne Kapuscinski on issues related to conservation, law and policy, specifically on a feasibility analysis of genetic methods for biocontrol of invasive fish species.

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Tim Patronski is a graduate student in the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Policy. He is currently working with Anne Kapuscinski on issues related to conservation and public policy, specifically on a feasibility analysis of genetic methods for biocontrol of invasive fish species.

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Andy Tri is currently a Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology student in the University of Minnesota's College of Natural Resources; he also is minoring in Horiculture. Andy is interested in pursuing a career in Marine Biology, and he hopes to study abroad - at James Cook University-Queensland, Australia - near the Great Barrier Reef, sometime within the next three years. His interests include marine and reef biosystems, herpetology, wildlife photography, marching band, snorkeling, and aquaria.

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Last modified August 15, 2006. For questions and comments related to this web page please contact isees@umn.edu.